J. Cole Says Jay-Z Respects Him Going Against Kanye West

Contrary to what many people think, it was not Jay-Z’s idea to pit two of his artists against each other. In a recent interview with Dj Drama, j. Cole expanded upon the release date and the significance of going up against Kanye West.

“He just respected it,” J. Cole says. “He thought it was like courageous. He thought it was a brave move. That was it. He wasn’t pitting me against him like, ‘Yeah, let me get my two artists [to release albums on the same day].’ Nah. He was just like, ‘Yo. That’s brave. You can’t lose,’ is what he was saying. Nobody even expects me to really win that day, in terms of sales, and that’s not really what it was about to begin with. It was about putting my name in the hat in terms of the music. You might have to make a decision. You might love both. You might love his. You might hate my album, but you’re not going to. But it’s forcing you to make a decision on which album [you’re going to prefer]. I’m just putting my name in the hat. That’s it.”